


Sincerity

by idanit



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Vignette, inspired by a quote from The Office, post-S3, the author hasn't even read a synopsis of The Office
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-28
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-28 17:13:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19398694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idanit/pseuds/idanit
Summary: It doesn't feel like a joke.





	Sincerity

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this back in 2016, inspired by something on Tumblr which would be difficult if not impossible to find now and never got around to posting it. It's the first and so far the only piece of fanfic I've ever written, so it holds a weird place in my heart. When I began working on something longer in recent days, I stumbled upon this on my computer, fixed some grammar mistakes/unfortunate phrasing (my English is still not perfect and was even worse then) and decided to throw it here. Because why not.

„Well, you have to have your kiss now” said John, not even particularly seriously, but not entirely jokingly either, his eyes shifty, his mouth performing something akin to a non-committal smile.

A kiss.

They had just entered 221B and were still in their coats. Although John was obviously referring to a remark made at their expense by a client earlier that day that they had both ignored at the time, it still took Sherlock a good three seconds before he pulled himself together enough to understand the rest of the sentence. A good three seconds during which John should have probably retreated, said something, given Sherlock a straightforward look in the eye and proceed to burst into giggles, but the silence lingered for some reason. A beat passed. And then it would have been too late, too awkward.

They had been in a good place recently, maybe as good as before the Fall, maybe even better. Having had several difficult, but ultimately cathartic conversations, they settled down once again, relearning how to navigate their life as two parts of the same mechanism moving in sync. They laughed, and ate and worked together, having verbalized, for the first time, how important they were to each other. But it was never phrased like that, not even as a joke.

“Mm. Right” Sherlock frowned in a mocking reenactment of the client’s words. He could still brush it off as playing along, but he was not cutting this short, whatever this was.  
John finally looked up, trying to maintain a neutral facial expression and generally succeeding, with his eyes maybe a tad too wide to look natural. Sherlock was holding his gaze and what might have been a joke before their eyes locked very quickly turned into a possibility worth serious consideration, and a beat passed, and then it would be too late to turn back from it, too awkward, wouldn’t it, and then it was already happening, and then it happened – brief, incandescent.

They didn’t move for a moment, almost physically stunned. It didn’t seem like any of them was keen on doing so anyway, so John met Sherlock’s eyes again, searching for permission, but finding his own lips kissing again before he could confirm either eagerness or reluctance. The first kiss could still be written off as a playful thing. This was crossing a line, perhaps trespassing. John pulled away.

Only then did they really, really look at each other. The question posed by John’s eyes reflected back in Sherlock’s and, mirroring indefinitely, slowly morphed into an unambiguous answer. And only then was their kiss really theirs, not a thing of playfulness or haste, but of tenderness and honesty.

It had taken them several long years, a fake suicide, a fake marriage and a fake excuse to do it, but it would seem that, in a breath of fresh air, they were sharing something real this time.


End file.
